Reloading first time
- Thread starter michaelfelix13
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
pdog shooter
Well-Known Member
Not knocking RCBS, I used one for six or so years. If you are going for accuracy then go ahead and buy the forster press. If you are like me you will always be wandering if that pesky 2 or 3 thou runout is coming from the side pull of the press. Geometry of the A frame let me know it wasn't. Or, as stated earlier, don't buy the tool that measures such. Someone earlier mentioned rabbit hole, I'm about half way down.
Red hit right start with one of the kits. I started with the Lyman kit with a turret press I stated with that about 35 years ago and still use it
Midway has several "kits". I'm a RCBS and Dillon fan, so I would recommend a RCBS kit. I own two Rock Chuckers and three Dillon pesses. Most of my dies were made by RCBS. You could save some money by purchasing Lee, but I have no experience with them except for die and have had no problems with them. Study the kits and see which one has the the most parts you need.. I can't recommend Lee presses because I have no experience with them, although many reloaders use them and they have been in business for a long time.
65WSM
Well-Known Member
I collect dies on E-bay. I have also purchased a press RCBS Rockchucker on E-bay. I will second that Redding/Imperial sizing wax is the way to go. Sprays lead to overspray and are an outdoor thing, Applying to little or to much lube when sizing cases is the most flustering part of learning.
Accurate bullet seating dies have a floating sleeve for alignment. That makes Lee and Hornady seating dies a real value price wise. The "best" are probably Whidden, Short Action Custom, Neil Jones, Forster and Wilson Arbor Press seaters. Again look for these dies on E-bay.
I use the "S" Type Redding Full Length Bushing dies, set up with the bushing sliding loose for 2/5 of the neck length to center the loaded round into the chamber of the rifle barrel. See the "Berger Reloading Manual". I mate the bushing dies to a set of Redding competion shell holders to get a minimum shoulder push back when resizing. Again available on E-bay as used equipment.
I believe that it is hard to get a better scale than the AND series that Adam MacDonald uses to make his auto-trickler. It costs a lot but is a stable and repeatable electronic scale. Look for a used AND scale on e-bay or a scientific equipment used equipment dealer. There is one in Seattle that I have visited a couple of times under the Spokane Street viaduct.
Neck tension is difficult to adjust without expander mandrels and a die to hold them. I have a rather complete collection from .17 to 7 mm and have not found problems with any of the 21st Century, Sinclair or K&M products.
Accurate bullet seating dies have a floating sleeve for alignment. That makes Lee and Hornady seating dies a real value price wise. The "best" are probably Whidden, Short Action Custom, Neil Jones, Forster and Wilson Arbor Press seaters. Again look for these dies on E-bay.
I use the "S" Type Redding Full Length Bushing dies, set up with the bushing sliding loose for 2/5 of the neck length to center the loaded round into the chamber of the rifle barrel. See the "Berger Reloading Manual". I mate the bushing dies to a set of Redding competion shell holders to get a minimum shoulder push back when resizing. Again available on E-bay as used equipment.
I believe that it is hard to get a better scale than the AND series that Adam MacDonald uses to make his auto-trickler. It costs a lot but is a stable and repeatable electronic scale. Look for a used AND scale on e-bay or a scientific equipment used equipment dealer. There is one in Seattle that I have visited a couple of times under the Spokane Street viaduct.
Neck tension is difficult to adjust without expander mandrels and a die to hold them. I have a rather complete collection from .17 to 7 mm and have not found problems with any of the 21st Century, Sinclair or K&M products.
You gotta have a license to get a semi auto rifle in NY now, ammo is expensive and primers are no where, can't carry in a business now unless they got sign up saying you can otherwise a felony, governor says this will bring crime down, this state sucks would leave if I could, retiring in 7 years, hopefully then.
I suggest you start by deciding what it is you want to accomplish with reloading? When I started 37 years ago, I just wanted to increase muzzle velocity over factory ammo (to flatten trajectories), improve accuracy of my hunting ammo, and save money by not having to buy Weatherby's 300 WBY and 257 WBY factory ammo. This modest set of goals would allow for a lot less to be spent these days for the initial setup.
If, on the other hand, you want to jump right into long range shooting and hunting (to 600-800 yds, and beyond, for example), then you're looking at a much more significant investment.
Well as you know there was a 14 press shootout and the rock chucker made the straightest ammo, Forster coax was not as good, I had a coax and got rid of it cause runout was bad, if I didn't check it I would say it was a great press but I did and it was not good. I have a rebel now and it makes very straight ammo, pushes shoulder the same, seats great, the press is on Amazon for 179.00, want to change dies quick get the quick change fittings, you gotta get lock rings for Forster, press has a grease fitting, very large ram, strong o ring design, it's cheap and you can load great ammo with it, I was not an rcbs fan till I got one, now I love it, a basic design that works, a ram lined up with a hole on top, that's what makes good ammo plain and simple, or you can rely on a bunch of arms pulling a shelf up that's holding the shell and hope it all lines up, just saying you can get a top notch press for around 200.00 and rcbs beat the coax, look up the 14 press shootout. BTW I also picked up an old rcbs jr and it works great also, got it for 50.00.
Wow! I expected that you would get a great deal of feedback, and you have. Reloading is a great hobby and as you can tell there are many different ways to get started. There is no shortcut to safely and effectively starting this hobby. You have to put in the time to learn and then decide what level you will be happy with. If you are happy with .5" to 1" MOA for a hunting rifle, then you can get into the hobby reasonably cheap. If you are wanting to compete or shoot Bugholes, you will always be looking for the next step to improve your reloading. I recently spent more on one die set than I did for my first Rock Chucker reloading kit.
I'm a relative newbie compared to many of the members here. I'm hooked and get a great deal of satisfaction in making my own ammo. However, you need to make your own mind up on how deep you want to go into this rabbit hole. Don't go too cheap, but don't overly complicate the process with high end tools before you decide if this something you are wanting pursue. Good luck with your journey.
I'm a relative newbie compared to many of the members here. I'm hooked and get a great deal of satisfaction in making my own ammo. However, you need to make your own mind up on how deep you want to go into this rabbit hole. Don't go too cheap, but don't overly complicate the process with high end tools before you decide if this something you are wanting pursue. Good luck with your journey.
For a beginner I would get a good solid single stage press, Redding bigboss, rcbs rebel or rock chucker supreme, mec marksman, all these presses are rated 1, 2 or 3 in top single stage presses depending on review, they are all very strong and will last a lifetime and are around 200.00, it's a small investment and if you decide you like reloading you will always use one of these presses for some function, I got 2 rcbs and 2 mecs, one body sizes, one has lee collet neck die, one has mandrel and last one seats, I find it's nice to keep everything set up separately, not that you should but my point is you'll always have a use for a good single stage press so it won't be a waste of money and if you stop reloading you won't have a lot into it, and I'll probably buy it off you if you quit reloading, good solid press will always sell, just stay away from the cheaper smaller single stage presses, I started with Lee challenger, got very sloppy in no time, buy a good cast iron press, it will do anything you need done and you'll always use it.
TheLongRanger83702
Well-Known Member
What equipment you'll need is dependent on the outcome you expect. If you're not after .25 MOA accuracy you can get by with your basic RCBS setup. If your after being able to shoot flies off your target @ 100 yards?... well?... how much money and time do you have?
I just replaced my 15 year old Rockchucker single stage press with the new Rebel press…I like the Rebel very much. The Rebel kit is probably a very good choice.
Keep it simple…buy a quality kit of whatever brand you choose and read the manual before you start, then follow the manual step by step as you load your first batch of cartridges…Be SAFE!
Keep it simple…buy a quality kit of whatever brand you choose and read the manual before you start, then follow the manual step by step as you load your first batch of cartridges…Be SAFE!
A micrometer seating die may seem expensive starting out, and is generally considered high end for super accurate reloading, but the reality is that it will be a lot easier to adjust and save you some frustration starting out. Plus you won't have to pay more to upgrade later. Definitely not necessary, just a time saver.
Love my rebel too, only downfall is can't prime on it, I'd rather not prime on press but might be good for beginners not to buy extra priming tool, totally forgot about not priming on it but the rock chucker supreme which you can prime on is only 149.00 on Amazon right now, I call that a no brainer, for that price I'm very tempted to buy one, don't think you can have too many, right?
